INSIGHT

The restaurant sector is changing because
of consumers’ evolving preferences—
especially on the part of millennials.
Independent restaurants and regional
chains are gaining in popularity, with
almost 250,000 independent restaurants
in the U.S. alone. While the large chains
have dedicated supply chain, sustainability
and food safety teams, the independent
restaurateurs often have to work things out
for themselves. Ecolab can help.

The Buttered Tin is a popular eatery
in St. Paul, Minnesota. The owner is
Alicia Hinze, a graduate of the famous
Le Cordon Bleu cooking school and former
winner of the Food Network's "Cupcake Wars"
baking competition. With expansion plans
in the works, she is looking to Ecolab
for support.

“I’m an Ecolab fan because we’ve become
such great partners,” she said.

INNOVATION

When Hinze opened The Buttered Tin in
2013, one of the first things she needed was
an under-the-counter dishmachine that fit
in her limited space. She turned to Ecolab,
the world’s largest supplier of leased
commercial dishmachines.

In 2015, Hinze joined Ecolab’s dishmachine
testing programme. The lessons learned
at The Buttered Tin help restaurants
elsewhere work more efficiently and
sustainably. “The main reason for the
testing is learning how to conserve water,
energy and products,” she said. “How
much do you use, what’s the optimal
temperature? We’re learning all the time.”

For a small restaurant, optimizing
chemistries and equipment also is a
cost-saver. At The Buttered Tin, cleaning
products, detergents and sanitizers are
a significant weekly expense, so Ecolab’s
highly efficient products not only save
water and energy, but also money.

At the future locations Hinze is prospecting,
she strives to be even more sustainable,
and Ecolab will be there from day one. “It
starts with the floor plan,” she said. “Where
do we put the Ecolab dishwasher and the
products? Or even just the floor itself:
Ecolab tells us which products to use and
how to clean it. It’s really important to get
that right, because you can save products,
time, energy and water.”

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